Not Again
by melizabethp
Summary: Leo is sick and Piper thinks she might be going crazy. Leo can't figure out is why Piper is freaking out. He feels like he might he be on the edge of something important .. But what is it? {A liper one-shot}


The door to Cabin 9 slammed open and standing in the door was a very panicked looking Piper McLean.

"_Where is he?_" she shouted at the Hephaestus campers, glancing around the chaotic cabin. The kids took a couple steps back, knowing a worked-up Piper is not to be taken lightly. Finally Nyssa took some initiative. She placed her hands on Piper's shoulders lightly.

"He's just down in his room. Calm down McLean." Piper took a deep breath and tried to do what Nyssa said. The burly girl nodded and sidestepped so Piper could make her way down to "_Casa de Leo" _ as he liked to call it.

Leo hadn't shown up to breakfast and when Piper had checked all his regular spots only to find he wasn't there either, she panicked and feared the worst. Later she would look back and wonder why her mind had immediately gone to that place. Or why she was so panicked when she thought about it. But right now, she just needed to see him. For whatever reason. Things had been complicated lately.

Piper ducked at the last step like she'd learned to do from her many visits to "Casa de Leo" and entered Leo's chamber. Everything looked pretty normal to Piper. Blueprints strewn everywhere, various pieces of clothing hanging off of various items of furniture. There was a large pile of ragged clothing on the bed forming a lump big enough to be a human.

It wasn't until that lump sneezed and then moaned that she realized it was actually Leo.

"Leo! What have you done to yourself?" Piper cried, running to the side of his bed.

"Oh hey Beauty Queen, nice to see you too," Leo rasped. Piper rolled her eyes. Sarcastic even at a time like this. Then she did a full-body check of Leo to assess the situation. Leo's nose was red like a reindeer's and he was glistening with sweat. Piper put a hand to his forehead but quickly removed it as his skin burned her hand. Even so, Leo shivered slightly every once in a while.

"Hades Valdez, any hotter and you will burn alive!" Piper fretted and walked into Leo's private bathroom, searching for a washcloth to put on her friend's forehead.

"I think it's kind of impossible for me to get any hotter," Piper could hear his grin from the bathroom. "And anyway, I burn alive almost everyday. It's a regular thing."

Piper returned to Leo's bedside and placed a damp washcloth on Leo's forehead. Steam started coming off his skin but he gave out a sigh of relief. But Piper wasn't done yet.

"So can I get you anything? Food, water, Buford? How long has it been since you last had water? You need to stay hydrated Valdez so you can get better," Piper paced as she rattled off her questions. She continued to talk but Leo wasn't listening. He stared at Piper walking back and forth, gesturing wildly as she talked and wondered what had her so worked up. She was being way too dramatic for a little cold. Finally, Leo tuned back in.

"Leo? Leo Valdez! Were you even listening to a word I just said?" Piper accused.

"I was listening! You just might have to repeat... Everything." Piper threw her arms up in exasperation.

"Why are you so worked up anyway Piper? It's just a cold. I'll be back to my normal awesome self in a day or two. I don't see what the big deal is."

"The big deal is that in all the time we've known each other Leo, you've never once been slightly sick! What if this isn't just a cold. What if it's worse than that. What if Hera is messing with us again? Or my mothe-" Suddenly Piper stopped and glanced at Leo with wide eyes. She had gotten too worked up and she realized what had been the problem the whole time.

She continued to stare at Leo. He stared back, his eyebrows furrowing together in confusion and suspicion. And as she looked upon him, she suddenly saw a whole new person. Still the same but different too. Piper finally realized what all those dreams this past week had meant. All the feelings and thoughts that seemed to be constantly wrestling in her head. She thought she was just going crazy and maybe she was. But there was something more to it.

Leo watched as Piper had a mini-freakout inside her head and then slide down the wall so she was now sitting on the floor. Leo wondered if he hadn't been the only one with a confusing week.

"Piper... What do you mean Aphrodite could be messing with us?" Leo waited as Piper stared at the ground and said nothing. It soon became evident she wasn't planning on saying anything and Leo climbed out of bed and sat next to her on the floor, their shoulders touching.

"Have you been having dreams too?" he asked her gently, trying to coax the words out of her.

"I can't lose you Leo. Not again," Piper whispered.

_Again? _Leo's body shook and not from the cold.

Finally everything made sense. All the dreams, all the emotions. Someone, maybe Hera, had finally unlocked everything he had been searching for. All those holes in his memories were filled.

And filled by none other than his own Piper McLean.

Leo stood, his brain moving 1000 miles an hour. He looked down at the girl sitting in front of him. She was so much the same but so different. So much had happened. Did she still feel the same?

She looked up at him and in her eyes he knew that she did.

"Leo," she said cautiously, "You remember."

It was a statement but it sounded like a question.

Piper looked at Leo and hope coursed through her veins and infected her thoughts. Everything seemed golden especially this sick, ragged boy standing in front of her.

Leo nodded and grinned down at his best friend.

For a moment everything stopped. Piper swore her heart didn't even beat.

Then it all sped up and he was _here _and he remembered. And oh gods, they had lost so much time. And what about Jason?

But at that very moment, Piper McLean didn't care and she stood up and threw herself into Leo's waiting arms.

They feel onto his bed and just laid there, holding each other so tight, everything tangled. His face was pressed against her hair and their arms clutched each other together, and whose legs were whose? And they stayed there, relishing in the fact that they _remembered. _

"Hey Pipes?"

"Mm?"

"We should probably move. I'm going to get you sick."

Piper chuckled softly and they began the process of untangling themselves. Finally, they were sitting on Leo's bed, facing each other cross-legged. Piper's hand found Leo's.

Leo sighed. There was content there but there was also a coursing sadness.

"What are we going to do Beauty Queen?"

There was a lot packed into that question and Piper pondered it quietly for a moment.

Leo waited in anticipation of an answer whilst thinking about the fact that nothing was ever permanent in his life, no matter how permanent it may seem.

"We face it together." Piper finally stated and gave a short nod, as if that was the end of it.

Piper McLean however, was rock solid. She wasn't going anywhere.

Leo searched her eyes, looking for something to doubt her answer. Instead he found his best friend, his rock, his greatest enemy, and maybe even himself.

And he decided to stop thinking.

Piper began to lean in and Leo did the same. It felt as if the world had been waiting for this moment and it was holding its breath, tension thickening until they were swimming in it. There lips were millimetres apart, foreheads pressed together, Leo radiating heat like the sun. Piper's sun, finally lighting up the night.

Suddenly his eyes went wide and Leo fell off the bed and landed on the floor with a bang. Piper was so surprised all she could do was stare.

Leo sat up, a bit dazed, and started breathing in. His nose twitched and his lips parted slightly.

Piper had seen that look. She ducked on the other side of the bed just in time to take cover.

_ACH-OO._

Leo sneezed the loudest sneeze known to demigod kind. Eventually Piper decided it was safe for her to stand up and survey the wreckage.

Leo's bedsheets had caught fire and a couple of his socks were smoking. Leo stood above it all smiling sheepishly.

The Cabin 9 fire alarm went off and everything and everyone were dosed in a sudden burst of water and fire extinguisher fluid, putting out the flames but also soaking everything else.

Aside from the alarm going off and water and foam spurting out of the ceiling, everything in the cabin was silent.

Then,

_NOT AGAIN LEO._

_VALDEZ I SWEAR TO HEPHAESTUS._

_I'M GOING TO CLONK THAT KID OVER THE HEAD WITH HIS OWN HAMMER._

Leo grinned and Piper doubled over laughing. They joined hands and began to walk up to meet the murderous mob waiting for them at the top of the stairs.

They knew for now, everything was okay.


End file.
